As Director of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Toks Omishakin manages 50,000 miles of highway.
On Feb. 17, he will share a virtual lecture with the Cal Poly Pomona community about his experiences with Caltrans, specifically about California’s commitment to an equitable and environmentally responsive transportation system.
Following the lecture at 6:30 p.m., the event co-hosted by the College of Environmental Design and the College of Engineering will conclude with a Q&A moderated by Danny Wu, Executive Director of Planning and Transportation at Cal Poly Pomona.
Wu (‘95, urban and regional planning) is responsible for facilitating travel to, from and within campus and has more than 25 years of public and private sector experience in transportation and land use, program and project management, and finance and policy.
Appointed in October 2019, Omishakin manages a $15 billion budget and nearly 21,000 employees at Caltrans. His transportation vision for California features a safe, sustainable and multimodal transportation system that builds on strong local partnerships. He believes that transformative innovation will be needed to achieve zero traffic-related deaths and a 40 percent reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030.
Before working with Caltrans, Omishakin worked for the Tennessee Department of Transportation, where he had a hand in leading the divisions of Environmental Services, Long-Range Planning, Multimodal Transportation Resources, and the Freight and Logistics Division.
Omishakin also served as Director of Healthy Living Initiatives in the Nashville Mayor’s Office. He was born in Knoxville, Tenn. and is completing a Ph.D. in Engineering management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He also has a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning and a bachelor’s in Engineering Technology.
